Quarks: charm and strange

I know it's been a while. But for someone who writes for a living, I really can't be blamed for the occasional lapse in my blogging; writing is hard work, and heavily dependent on inspiration/creative impulses/boredom/lack of nothing better to do/a fulfilled sleep debt. Nevertheless, I cannot possibly disappoint my loyal reader (s) out there *dramatic sigh* so I have forced myself to pen my thoughts on this very late evening after a LONG day at work...

[Also, not to rub it in or anything *snigger* but I just polished off a Sri Lankan mango.. Oh man, heaven in a juicy, green skinned fruit! As you can see, I have already returned to my chirpy self]

I must share this line from the book I am currently reading: 'It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting...' -'The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho. I quite agree with him. If not for our dreams and hopes and ambitions, life would be quite dull I think. Or it would be ok, but just going nowhere interesting. We'd just exist, rather than live.

I was also quite over the moon that I finally got my hands on A Thousand Splendid Suns and finished it the other day. Admittedly, Khaled Hosseini is a really good author. What makes the book even better though, is the realness of the story- it captures human emotion so well, and makes you feel how and what the characters feel. Between this read and The Kite Runner though, I still liked the latter more. But I strongly recommend A Thousand Splendid Suns to those of you who weren't too sure if it is a worthy read- it definitely is.

I haven't had the chance to write about My Sister's Keeper yet- so here's my take on it: If you're trying to decide between reading the book and watching the movie, my advice is to ignore the existence of the movie and buy the book instead. It's been a while since I've read something that had me this hooked, and I honestly can't remember the last book that made me cry. Reviews about this have been good and bad, and a lot of people were disappointed about how the story ended, but I think its subjective- you need to read it for yourself and decide. It's a beautiful and bittersweet story, and hats off to Picoult for doing such a good job.

Ok, onto less bookworm-ish issues: My long standing desire to lie on a beach and be happy was finally fulfilled last weekend- in Phuket :) I need to post another separate little entry about the trip itself, but it was a really awesome weekend getaway. I am such a beach girl at heart. And I love Thai food.

Speaking of food, our first ever string hopper lunch at work was a rockin' success! Complete with masi sambol and some chicken curry + dhal from the local prata uncle.. Much thanks to the sibling for lugging 250 stringhoppers all the way from home. And more thanks to mother dearest for being so great about feeding people :)

I've also been down with the flu for the last week. I suspect it was the infamous H1N1 (it is now cool to have had it, because everyone has- the need to feel included maybe?) which has almost become a trendy disease, but I am glad it's passed its worst. As far as my immune system's concerned anyway. Them poor little white cells..

And.. *drumroll...* I am now properly qualified in basic bhangra dancing. Don't even ask. It's a lot of fun and a pretty good workout though. And I never pass up a chance to laugh at myself. And valiantly fail at improving my graceful nature.

I will thus end for now on that merry note and go curl up with a book. And try and forget all the deadlines I need to meet yesterday. Laters folks!

ps. In case you were wondering about the coolly confusing title of the post, I just discovered today that 2 of the 6 kinds of quarks are called charm and strange. I shall keep this in mind as possible childrens' names in the future..